We believe thatthe greatest moral, economic, and political issue of our timeis growing income inequality. We believe that the greatest moral, economic, and political issue of our time is growing income inequality. The top 0.10% of the richest Americans now earn as much as the bottom 90%, a national disgrace. The current system of tax breaks and special privileges — which benefit large corporations and the very wealthy — must be reversed. The too-big-to-fail banks must be re-regulated to prevent the abuses that caused the 2008–2009 recession and Wall Street’s hijacking of our economy. Direct actions including raising the minimum wage and strengthening labor unions (which currently support just 7% of working Americans) are essential to more equitably spread our wealth and put money in the hands of the middle class that will spend it back in the economy.

We believe our democracy demands one person one vote. It should prohibit the Koch brothers and other billionaires from spending unlimited money on political campaigns. The Citizens United U.S. Supreme Court ruling must be overturned so that real reform can be brought to campaign spending; big money should not influence elections and, ultimately, public policy. We believe in greater voter participation in our elections, and abhor voter suppression measures implemented in some states to disenfranchise poor and minority voters.

We believe that Health Care is a human right and not a privilege. It’s time for our country to join the rest of the industrialized world in providing universal health to all. The Affordable Care Act is the first step and should be modified instead of eliminated to protect Americans from the monopolistic abuse of health insurers. The ACA should be improved, just as Social Security and Medicare were improved after their enactments, but should not under any circumstances be eliminated. For-profit private insurance and drug companies should not be allowed to ratchet up their profits, which has contributed to the sad fact that the U.S. spends twice as much on health care than other nations, with poorer health outcomes. We believe that ultimately America should have a single-payer health care system.

We believethat quality public education should be available to all of our children regardless of income. We also believe that all children should have free access to pre-school, which is so important for their later academic success. We support our public schools and believe that education budgets should be the last to be cut during revenue shortfalls. We believe that higher education is a public investment in our collective future and that young people should not be deprived of it because they cannot afford it. It is a national shame that so many of our students can face decades of student loan debt to finance their secondary educations.

We believe in science and that climate change is real and caused by human activity. We believe that federal and local governments should commit to greater use of sustainable, non-fossil fuel sources to ensure a healthful environment for future generations.

We believewe must rebuild ourinfrastructure: our crumbling roads, bridges, ports, airports, and other essential things. This essential work would create millions of well-paying jobs, and could be partially financed by reducing our bloated military budget, which is more than the next seven countries combined.

We believethat we need acomprehensive, fair immigration policy. We need immigration for the growth and health of our economy, and it is immoral and unconscionable that millions of hard working immigrants and their children live under the cloud of the constant fear of deportation. We support sanctuary cities like San Francisco.

We believe that women should have equal rights and pay at work. We also support policies like paid family leave and affordable childcare that support working women and their families.

We believe thatno person should be discriminated against in any way because of his or her race, religion, or sexual orientation.

We still believe our founding principle of religious freedom, but we also believe in the strict separation of church and state. No group should be discriminated against because of religion.

We believe in supporting our hard-working law enforcement while recognizing that police reform is needed in some communities. We acknowledge that our criminal justice system discriminates against the poor and minorities and should be reformed under the guidelines of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

By and large, polls show that the American people support such a progressive agenda, but that the Democratic Party has yet to make it clearly its own and, most importantly, to turn that agenda into action. As fellow Democrats we must defend our values, articulate them whenever possible, and oppose demagogues so that fear and half-truths will not prevail. We must re-commit to the needs of our traditional base, the middle class.